In April 1997 in the United Kingdom (UK), "Teletubbies," a television program designed for young children, debuted. Unexpectedly, it developed a cult following among college students. In April 1998 "Teletubbies" debuted in the United States (US) on PBS. A study compared alternative readings and deconstructions of…

Television is ubiquitous--it is seemingly everywhere at once. With its presence felt in nearly every United States household, how it may impact family interaction is worthy of scholarly study. This literature review spans nearly a half-century of television and family communication. The research suggests that television has negative, positive, and…

Reviews research dealing with Canadian editors' views of Canada-United States relations, measuring audience activity, the effects of "Herbert v. Lando," agenda setting in the 1976 election debates, media use and political orientations of ethnic groups, the readability of tabloid papers, and the women's magazine short story heroine. (FL)

Interviews with 1,575 persons of voting age, conducted during the three-month period following the 1974 congressional elections, suggest that Blacks are less committed to newspapers than Whites and are more dependent on television. (GT)

Discussion of the amount of mental effort children invest in television viewing versus book reading focuses on a Dutch study based on Salomon's model and his studies with children in Israel and the United States. The depth of information processed is discussed, and differences in results are examined. (18 references) (LRW)

Drawn from a much more extensive research project about children and television, this study examined the social processes through which the meanings of television are established and negotiated. A series of small group interviews with boys aged between 8 and 12 years were conducted. Two series of interviews focused on the cartoon television series…

In January 1983, the American public read or saw hard-hitting allegations of leftist bias by the National Council of Churches (NCC) in the largest circulation magazine, "Reader's Digest," and on the top-rated television program, "60 Minutes." A study examined the extent to which the media set the agenda for debate on this…

A two-part study investigated the speed with which information about the explosion of the space shuttle "Challenger" was disseminated and the information holding and affect differences associated with different media channels. In the first part of the study, cross-sectional data were collected from 119 college undergraduates within 54…

Technological advancements in television images have resulted in an increase of media imagery. One cause of people's fascination with the new media technology is the constant utilization of depth axis staging. The visual elements that make up the image are often placed within the Z-axis, moving rapidly toward or away from the viewer, often…

The commercials on the Sky Channel, the first pan-European satellite television channel, and on the West German Channel 2 (or ZDF) are analyzed in this report. The study summarizes an investigation of the economic consequences of transborder television advertising in Europe and the consequences for consumers if television advertising grows or is…

This paper deals with Latino audiences in the United States and explores how socially beneficial research agenda can deal with their communication needs and result in better and more programming on public broadcasting services. Latino audiences are defined as persons of Spanish language heritage, regardless of surname or country origin. A…

This paper outlines the predominant aesthetics of American public television's contributors and viewers. These aesthetic perspectives are elaborated in relation to specific historic, institutional, and political trends in American society. The paper traces public television usage and support as the product of confusing and sometimes contradictory…

This paper examines the developmental background of the video "revolution" and reviews the availability and use of video in Sweden in 1981. A summary and discussion of the results of various recently published studies of video use focuses on research by Hulten and Wachtmeister (1981) and Wall and Cederblad (1981). A summary is also…

Approximately 823 people were interviewed in a study that sought to determine (1) whether newspaper reliant and television reliant people think about political information in the same manner, and (2) what inferences can be drawn from the viewing of cognitive structures if one assumes a causal ordering from cognitive structure--level of…

A 1981 nationwide study of awareness of public broadcasting, viewing, and listening habits for public television and public radio, and reactions to on-air fund raising by public broadcasting stations are described in this report. Information on the survey and the analysis of the results have been organized into two sections, one presenting results…